This invention relates to liquid dispensers, and more particularly to such dispensers which are specially adapted for dispensing soaps and sterile cleansing fluids such as antiseptic soaps and sterilizing solutions.
Fluid dispensers have heretofore been known, illustrative of which are those disclosed in U.S. Pats. 2,387,359 granted to E. J. Scarry on Oct. 23, 1945; and 3,273,752 granted to G. E. Horeczky on Sept. 20, 1966. The proposals of these and other patents have covered a wide range of features attempting to contribute to the more effective distribution of ordinary cleansing fluids such as soap and to the sterile dispensation of cleansing fluids for use in various environments such as hospitals, food processing establishments, and the like where use of sterile fluids is required. In such environments there is often contamination of the hands with infection materials, and use of a contaminated hand to actuate a dispenser can result in placing such infectious material on the dispenser and even result in the infectious organisms in such materials contaminating the cleansing fluid in the dispenser.
Also, in such environments the flow of air can carry infectious organisms and trap them in nooks and crannies of the dispensers where they can again present contamination problems.
Further, while many soaps and solutions are initially sterile when placed in a dispenser, there are no sure means provided to ensure their sterility during use. Proposals in the noted patents and in other devices to overcome contamination problems have included features such as proximity actuation (i.e., actuation without actually touching a control or actuating member), and efforts to seal the cleaning fluids from the ambient contaminating environment. However, there has not been embodied in any single dispenser all of a number of features which are deemed necessary and/or desirable to ensure continued dispensing of sterile cleaning fluids over an extended period of time. Accordingly, there has continued to be a need for further improvement in apparatus especially adapted for the dispensation of sterile fluids which are subject to a minimum risk of contamination.